Phased antenna arrays have been used in radar for a relatively long time for military communications and imaging systems. With recent advances in hardware design, inexpensive and small form-factor active antenna array (AAA) design for mass deployment is becoming reality. Particularly, modular antenna design with integrated Radio Frequency (RF) transceivers allows stacking the antenna elements flexibly to form an array for any geometry, size and power output required. For example, a vertical antenna array, which includes antenna elements arranged in a vertical structure, may be used for macro-cell deployment. Also, square or rectangular arrays are ideally suited for installation in building facades and bus stations. Circular arrays with omni or directional elements are suited for installations on lamp posts. Single or two antenna elements can be used for distributed antenna subsystem (DAS) replacement in campuses, stadiums, or indoor deployments.
This innovation in radio design changes the paradigm of cellular network deployment from a conventional fixed cellular network to a heterogeneous network with a mixture of small and larger cells. Advanced interference management and improvement in network operational efficiency are becoming more important in such network deployments.
In a conventional network, the antenna tilt and the pilot power are configured statically or semi-statically to ensure radio coverage during installation and by drive-test. However, this effort is time-consuming and not optimal, when traffic loading varies dynamically. For example, the antenna tilt is varied mechanically or electronically to optimize the coverage in a static or semi-static manner; however this not optimal when the traffic loading changes.